Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, directed by Dominic Arun and starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, has grossed greater than ₹ 300 crores on the field workplace and has turn out to be the most important hit within the historical past of Malayalam cinema, changing Mohanlal-starrer Empuraan. It’s a kind of uncommon ‘pan-Indian’ blockbusters that appears to have rejoiced audiences and critics alike.
From its amazingly conceptualised world and beautiful visuals to Kalyani’s display presence and Jakes Bejoy’s hovering soundtrack, a number of causes are being attributed for its blockbuster run. However the one facet that has made it universally beloved by Malayalis is the film’s connection to the story of Kaliyankattu Neeli, one of the crucial recognised characters from Kerala’s folklore.
In Aithihyamala (Garland of legends), a well-liked assortment of Kerala’s folktales compiled by the nineteenth century author Kottarathil Sankunni, Neeli is a robust yakshi (a malevolent spirit) who lures and eats lone (usually upper-caste) males who enterprise into the Kaliyankattu forest. This story has had a number of display adaptions over the previous few a long time and is instilled deeply within the Malayali psyche.
Lokah, written by Dominic and actor-writer Santhy Balachandran, subverts this story by turning Neeli right into a nomadic superhero, Chandra, who has over the centuries used her powers to guard the weak. The film additionally flipped the favored delusion of Kadamattathu Kathanar, the Christian priest and highly effective magician, usually portrayed as the one that exorcised Neeli and turned her right into a benevolent goddess. In Lokah, he’s seen as an ally of Chandra/Neeli who has already inherited a way of righteousness from her mom.
“Dominic’s concept of inserting the yakshi in a contemporary context and recasting her as a superhero excited all of us. Since audiences are acquainted with superhero movies and see them as characters who make highly effective decisions, I felt it was necessary to make sure that Chandra/Neeli has company — that she shouldn’t be forcibly remodeled right into a drive for good by a determine of patriarchal non secular authority. That’s the reason we see Chandra receiving her ethical code from a lady — her mom,” says Santhy, including that myths, legends and folklore have at all times been dynamic entities open to reinterpretation as they’re a product of their occasions.
Sarada and Sathyan in a nonetheless from Yakshi
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Nevertheless, this isn’t the primary time Malayalam cinema has cleverly reimagined folklore, particularly the yakshi. KS Sethumadhavan’s Yakshi (1968) based mostly on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s eponymous 1967 novel, of the identical title, is among the first movies to function a yakshi, and that too in a way that subverted the standard yakshi lore. It’s a psychological thriller by which a university professor (performed by Sathyan), who’s disfigured in a laboratory accident, meets and falls in love with a mysterious lady named Ragini (performed by Sarada), whom he begins suspecting to be a yakshi.
Fahadh Faasil and Anumol in Akam
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The 2011-movie Akam by Shalini Usha Devi, starring Fahadh Faasil and Anumol, is a feminist adaptation of the identical novel. Whereas each films comply with an identical plot, in Shalini’s retelling of the story the yakshi is used as an emblem of feminine company and need in addition to a projection of the male insecurity. Like Santhy, Shalini too thinks folklore and myths ought to be open to reinterpretation. “There ought to at all times be house for reimagining these tales. It’s the retelling that makes the feel of those tales richer over time,” she provides.
There have been different quite a few movies based mostly on the yakshi lore in between, together with at the very least two films that featured Kaliyankattu Neeli. However most of them are poorly-crafted horror flicks that painting the yakshi as nothing greater than a vampire who preys on individuals, particularly males.
Chanchal in a nonetheless from Ennu Swantham Janakikutty
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The one standout has been the 1998-classic Ennu Swantham Janakikutty, directed by Hariharan and scripted by the famend creator MT Vasudevan Nair. It explores the coming-of-age of a lonely teenager, Janakikutty (performed by Jomol), who encounters and befriends Kunjathol, a pleasant but melancholic yakshi (performed by Chanchal).
A nonetheless from My Pricey Kuttichathan
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Kuttichathan (a mischievous, usually fearsome boyish spirit worshipped as a deity in elements of Kerala) is one other folklore determine that has featured closely in Malayalam cinema. The quirky chathan, performed by Tovino Thomas in Lokah, is simply the newest onscreen model of the people deity.
My Dear Kuttichathan(1984), India’s first 3D movie, was in regards to the kuttichathan dwelling with a bunch of children as one in every of them after being unintentionally launched by them from its enslavement.
Mammootty in a promotion poster of Bramayugam
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Extra lately, Rahul Sadasivan’s Bramayugam (2024) with Mammootty within the lead and Nirmal Sahadev’s 2022-horror fantasy Kumari, starring Aishwarya Lakshmi, tried to floor chathan’s lore in a extra critical socio-political setting. Whereas Bramayugam successfully used the chathan to signify the horror of unrestricted privilege and energy, Kumari used its fascinating folklore premise to painting how far patriarchs in a feudal society can go to keep up their energy and traditions.
How one can make it work?
“One of many methods you can also make folklore related and nonetheless respiration is rooting it in a recent world. That’s what makes Lokah stand out. It makes you are feeling that the lores belong in your world and usually are not simply tales that maybe your grandmother informed you otherwise you learn in a e-book someplace,” says Kishore Mohan, Thiruvananthapuram-based idea artist and author who has labored on a number of fantasy graphic novels.
Tovino Thomas in Ajayante Randam Moshanam
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Jithin Laal, director of Ajayante Randaam Moshanam or ARM(2024), feels that when the story is happening in a fantasy world, writers and filmmakers must construct a bridge to make the viewers relate to this world. “Once I got down to make ARM, what I heard probably the most was that fantasy was not one thing viewers in Kerala would be capable to digest. Nevertheless, I used to be assured that will probably be accepted whether it is executed organically, portraying the socio-politics of the interval by which the story is a method we will make it grounded and relatable,” he provides.
ARM, written by Sujith Nambiar, is an instance of this method. It entails all the pieces from a narrative of a village the place a meteor fell and the tales of valour of a fabled warrior to the lore of a legendary thief and the thriller behind a magical lamp he stole, all of the whereas rooting it within the altering socio-politics of the village from the medieval occasions to the Nineteen Nineties.
Such an natural integration of folklore into a recent setting is one other function that makes Lokah an attractive watch. “Sustaining a stability between the spirit of the unique materials whereas offering a recent perspective takes a while. Cracking that could be a enjoyable train because it usually exposes our biases and pre-conceived notions about iconic characters,” provides Santhy who additionally did the dramaturgy work for Lokah other than co-writing it.
In that regard, it’s just like one in every of Jithin’s favorite Malayalam fantasy movies, Sakshal Sreeman Chaathunni (1993), directed by Anil–Babu duo and written by Kaloor Dennis. It starred the late actor Harmless as a playful and pleasant grownup model of the chathan who’s launched from his bondage to a robust black magician by two unemployed children (Jagadheesh and Baiju Santosh), whom he finally ends up serving to overcome varied issues utilizing his supernatural powers.
Not simply fantasies
Whereas a lot of the folklore-based films lean into the supernatural, not all of them are fantasies. Quite a few movies are based mostly on the tales of real-life legendary thieves Kayamkulam Kochunni and Ithikara Pakki, each of whom are featured in Aithihyamala, with the newest one being Kayamkulam Kochunni (2018) directed by Rosshan Andrrews starring Nivin Pauly as Kochunni and Mohanlal in a cameo position as Pakki.
The opposite main motion, interval films embody Palattu Koman (1962), Thacholi Othenan (1964), Thacholi Ambu (1978) and Kadathanadan Ambady (1990) which might be based mostly on vadakkan paattukal (Northern Ballads) — a set of story-songs from the medieval interval showcasing heroic tales of north Kerala’s warrior clans. Most of those haven’t aged effectively owing to their kitschy type.
Mammootty in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
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Nevertheless, the 1989 Mammootty-starrer Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, one other movie from the MT-Hariharan crew, stands out as not simply as the very best of those films but in addition one of many biggest interval dramas of Indian cinema. MT reworked the story of Chandu Chekavar, a treacherous determine who betrayed and murdered his cousin within the unique folklore, as a tragic warrior who was misunderstood by everybody on account of unlucky circumstances. It gained 4 Nationwide Movie Awards and eight Kerala State Movie Awards.
Past the mainstream
Whereas most of those had been mainstream productions, there are a couple of within the non-mainstream class as effectively. Like Perumthachan (1990) directed by Ajayan and scripted by MT based mostly on the legend of Perumthachan (grasp carpenter) from the well-known Parayi Petta Panthirukulam (story of twelve youngsters birthed by a Paraya lady). It explores the battle between Perumthachan (Thilakan) and his extraordinarily expert son (Prashanth) who needed to interrupt out of traditions.
Thilakan in a nonetheless from Perumthachan
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Though not based mostly on any recorded lores, P Padmarajan’s Njan Gandharvan (1991), and G Aravindan’s Kummatty (1979) and Esthappan (1980) borrowed closely from the folklore custom. Whereas Njan Gandharvan unabashedly explores the sexual awakening of a younger woman utilizing gandharva as a personification of affection and need, each of Aravindan’s films are a few wandering mysterious males who carry out methods and miracles.
A scene from G Aravindan’s Kummatty
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Some of the visually beautiful movies ever made in India, Kishore cites Kummatty as a serious affect on his love for speculative fiction. He says, “The language and the pacing of the film gave me the house to create a complete one other world inside my head as a child. I might lay awake in mattress interested by the place the magician comes kind, the place he goes away to and what else is going on to the kids within the locations he travels by way of.” Kummatty was restored to its full glory in 2021 by the World Cinema Mission of The Movie Basis, a non-profit created by filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
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